Trap



W. J. TURNER TRAP original Filed July 31, 19 19 I7? ve 77 50? 802;62122,??? JTwner MM MM (M Patented May 15, 1923.

PATENT oFFiaca.

WILLIAM J. TURNER, OF SEEKONK, MASSACHUSETTS.

TRAP.

Application filed July 31, 1919, Serial No. 314,539. Renewed October 10,1922. Serial No. 593,656.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM'J. TURNER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Seekonk, in the county of Bristol and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inTraps, of whlch the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements 1n steam traps and, moreparticularly, to allmetal traps. It is among the objects of theinvention to provide a trap which shall be practicable of manufacture byordlnary machine operations; be capable of use agalnst relatively highpressure as well as extremely low; have few and simple parts; have thoseparts interchangeable for different adjustments, and to a large degreeinterchangeable for diiferent sizes; and in general combine theforegoing attributes with the other advantages of the invention hereindescribed, in apparatus which is strong, reliable,- and relativelyinexpensive. -As a result, in addition to obvious advantages of lowcost, reliable operation, and covenience, theapparatus of the inventionhas a special commercial utility on account of the relatively smallnumber of parts that need be carried in stock by one having on hand afull line of sizes. y

The object in general being to provide a automatic valve which shallpermit the escape of air'butnot the escape of steam, or. in case of anyfluid, to operate as a shut off on the attainment of a predeterminedtem' perature, the principle of differential ex pansion of relativelylarge metallic tubes is used to apply great power to the short arm of alever whose long-arm, also tubular and extending parallel to the saidtubes, is a beam of great strength acting directly upon the .valv k I yWhile the invention may be embodied in apparatus in various forms,reference is made to the accompanyingqdrawings as b showing apeculiarlysimple and desirable form. It is intended that the patent shall cover,by suitable expression in the appended claims, whatever features ofpatent able novelty exist in, the invention disclosed.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a front elevation of anembodiment of the invention, in medial section;

Figure 2 is a plan of the same in section on theline 2-2 of Figure 1; 1

side elevation of a part of section on the line 3-3 of Fig- Figure 3 isa the same in ure 1; and V Figure 4 is a perspective of a detail.

Referrin to the drawings, 10 indicates the cylindrical part of a casingadapted to dlscharge through its lower end'll whatever fluid enters itthrough the valve 12 in tubular plug 13, from the pipe, radiator,orotheri apparatus to which it is attached. The said valve 12, mountedin the plug 13, tends to stand open, being pressed away from its seat 12by a spring 14 which is strung around the stem 15 of the'valve andpresses from ashoulder 7 within the tube, adjacent to the valve seat,through the medium of fluted washers 16 which center the said valve stemwithinthe passage 17. Oneof these is seated against said shoulder andthe other against a pin or shoulder 8 on the stem.

The valve can, however, be seated by pressure of the tubularvbeam 18 onthe end of its stem 15. This beam forms a part of the long arm of alever which isfswung to the, left, as the parts are represented inFigure 1,

wheneverthe point 19, which may be'taken as the point of application ofpower to. the lever, rises with respect to the knife edge 20 which maybe taken as the fulcrum. The

thermostatic elements and the beam are all nested togethe inparallelism, very compactly and with great power and strength,

.as follows: The casing 10 is a tubular piece,

preferably made of cast iron and extending preferably upward, from theplug 13 by .which it is attached to the apparatus with 'Wl11Ch it is towork. It is closed at its top by a tubular screw threaded plug 21 whichthus constitutes the end wall of the casing,

the tube of which plug is in turn closed by a tubular screw plug orsleeve 22, whose axial opening is in turn closed by a pin 23 whose headis within, has a shoulder 24 tubular plug 22, and carries the ridge withknife edge 20 that points downward and constitutes the fulcrum. When theparts are assembled, this fulcrum is fixed in posicaring upward againstthe inner end of this tion within the casing, being barredagainst anyupward movement with respect to the casing 10 by the screw engagementsof the plugs 22 and 21, the former of which is set down against theshoulder 24 of the pin, and

being barred against any downward .moveleft in Figure 1.

ment by the lever, composed of the plug 25 and the tubular beam 18. Thisplug closes the end of this tubular beam and has a notch 20 to receiveand co-operate with the fulcrum edge 20. The lever is of the bell cranktype, although not at all resembling such in aspect, in that the power,as illustrated, is applied vertically while the beam swingshorizontally. The application of power is by .the ridge and knife edge19 on top of the bronze expansion post 9 pressing upward in the notch 19on the under side of the plug 25 at a short distance from the plane ofthe fulcrum knife edge. The point of application of the power may beconsidered either as the point of a cone, or as the crest of a ridge,the former being somewhat cheaper in manufacture, and the latter moredurable in use. If the latter form be chosen, the crest 0r knife edge19, and the notch 19 in which it is seated, will be parallel to the edgeand notch 20, 21', of the fulcrum. The plane of each is indicated inFigure 1 by the dot and dash lines 20" and 19" extending verticallyrather close together in the middle of the figure, the distance betweenwhich is the length of the short of the lever.

With this description of structure and function of what is hereinreferred to as constituting the bell crank lever, it will be understoodthat the tube 18 and its plug 25 together constitute the lever, and thatthe short arm of the lever is that part of the plug 25 which liesbetween the lines 19" and 20", that is, between the point of applicationof the power and the fulcrum, and that the long arm of the lever,sometimes referred to as the tubular arm or the beam, is the tube 18,extending from the fulcrum to the point of engaging the resistance,where this tube engages the valve stem 15. i

The power is applied by the expansion post 9, made of brass or othermetal having a co-eflicient of expansion greater than that of the casing10. This post is preferably tubular and rests at its bottom on a pin 29which crosses through the middle of the tubular casing 10. For thestronger holding of this pin, bosses 30 may be provided,

projecting inward in the casing, and serving alsoto centre the lower endof the expansion post within the tube, in the direction which is towardand from the eye in Figure 1. "Byformed in its botto n end, theexpansion post a9 straddles the pin 29 so as to prevent any displacementof the lower end ofthe post in the direction which is toward the rightor 7 The post can, however, swing on this pm as on a pivot the triflingdegree needed for its top to fit plugs having greater orless distancebetween the planes 10f poweriapplication and of fulcrum. 19

and 20".

a semi-circular notch 29 These several tubular elements aresubstantially concentric. The power and fulcrum bearings are fixed inrelation to each other, because they are made on asingle plug that fillsone end of the tubular beam. The top of the beam 1 8 is maintainedcentral in the casing by the joint effect of the fulcrum notch and theflat side walls 34 of the interior of thecasing 10, provided at thatpoint of suitable dimension to receive and centre the top end of thebeam 18 in the direction which is toward or from the eye in Figure 1.

In operation, the 'apparatusis to be set so that the valve 12 will beheld open by its spring 14 when the temperature is below that at whichthe apparatus is to operate, but so that at the predeterminedtemperature the length of the post 9 will have .increased enough morethan the length .of the casing 10 has increased to have raised the point19, with respect to the fulcrum 20, so as to swing the tubular leverbeam 18 to the left, as the parts are viewedin Figure 1, enough to drivethe valve stem 15 and valve 12 to a seated position.

In order toadjust the valve for any installation, the plug 22 at the topmay be screwed upward, thus raising the fulcrum, and letting valve 12open. Steam may be allowed to pass freelythrough the apparatus until thesame is thoroughly heated to the temperature at which it is desired tohave the apparatus automatically close the valve 12. Then the plug22.1nay be screwed down tight until the valve 1 2 is closed so that nosteam escapes, andsecured by a lock nut if desired. The conditionswithin may be observed by use of a test valve 35, provided in the casingnear the bottom.

When in operation, as condensation accumulates and the apparatus cools,the expanSion post 9 contracts and the valve 12 is opened by thepressureof steam behind it or by its spring 14. Condensation is thendischarged until steam again comes to and passes through the valve 12,heats the expansion post :9 and causes the valve 12 to close. Speed ofaction is enhanced. by the provision of vent or circulation holes 26, inthe upper part of the tubular beam, and 26 in the upper part of thetubularexpansion post, both of these tubes being open at their lowerends.

The lever beam 18 being :tubular and large is very strong and cantherefore close the valve 12 and hold it closed against a very highsteam pressure. lit is, however, desirable to use a smaller valve 12with the higher steam pressures.

The construction described ma'kesthetrap adaptable to a wide range ofpressures, from sub-atmospheric or vapor up to two hundred pounds ormore. The siaeof-valve opening 12 and the short arm of the lever saryfor a dealer, in commercial practice,

to keep a large number of varieties in stock, for any variety that maybe specified for a casing of given size can be made by an ordinaryworkman by putting in the proper screw plugs. Although the short arm ofthe lever is such a small fraction of an inch in actual measurement, thelocation of its bearings points intheplug 25 can readily be made byprecision machinery with sufficient accuracy; and although the edges arespoken of as a knife edge it will be understood that for practicalpurposes the knife edge will'usually be made with an apprecia ble'thickness, to resist wear. Adjustment can easily be madefor any wearthat may occur by means of the screw settings. The fulcrum knife edgemay-always accommodate itself to a new setting, because" of the slipconnection between the head which carries it and the adjusting plug 21which rotates to screw it downward, the fulcrum knife edge being'ineffect set on a swivel. This is therefore, in the claims, said to beswivelled, in the tubular screw plug21 which closes the tubular casing10, being mounted in and shouldered rotatably on the screw sleeve 22which is within said plug. The seat of the valve 12 can be easilycleaned by disconnecting the parts, being removable; and this feature isof special value in washing out a new job because this valve seat can beleft out until sediment has all been blown through.

The invention thus disclosed provides a trap of such simple andsubstantiahinechanical parts and 1 of such strength and range ofleverage and of valve sizes that the principle can be applied to trapsfor radiators and low pressure heating and also to mills, engine rooms,drying aparatus, and the like where high pressure and super-heated steamare required; and the trap can be set and adjusted while under workingpressure.

' In the claims, the term expansion post is used for brevity, and itwill be understood that this refers to differential expansion incomparison with the tubular casing in which it is contained. 'In so faras both the easing and the post expand an equal distance, there isnoeffect, and it is the additional vsion. is swivelle d, and at the sametime is adjustable to. varying distances axiallytoward th expansionwhich the post undergoes which makes theapparatus operative.

By mounting the expansion post pivotally and using a knife edge for itslever contact, it is possible to use the same expansion member withvarious plugs 25 substituted for each other in the same lever, each withfulcrum groove 20 offset to a different dis tance from the diametricallyarranged groove 19, thus making the short arm of the leverof differinglengths. As the fulcrum 20 is in a diametric plane through the casing10,'the plug 25 and with it the topof the expansion post is offset fromthe middle of the casing more or less, according to the distancebetweenthe planes of the fulcrum groove20 and the expansion post groove19; while the support 29 ofthat post never moves, and must always afforda firm and steady support, the bottom end of the expansion post and theuse of knife edgesat the top makes possible a ready acommodation for thediffering anglesv as different plugs are substituted. By making the plug25 with a long body and with a shoulder 25 fitting against a machinedupper end of the tubular lever 18, a connection between the plug and thelever is made which provides tightness notwithstanding there may be somelooseness or lost motion in the screw connection. Such tightness is amatter of importance where the short arm is, forexample,only three orfour sixty-fourths of an inch in length. As-

-- suming that the leverage of the tubular lever is approximately 200 to1 and that the valve 12 is working against a pressure so high that thereis ten pounds push'against this valve, there will be two thousand poundspush on the expansion post. The invention,-

however, provides a design of such strength that the metals and thecontact points can easily be madeto stand and transmit several timesthis ton of pressure; and in this coninection the value of having atight fit of the shoulder 25 of the plug to prevent any lost motionnotwithstanding the possible looseness of the screw becomes manifest Itis a further advantage of the invention that the tube 18 is adaptedto'work against the valve on its'every side. It would be diflicult toarrange its screw thread so as to make a particular part of thetube cometo rest just opposite the valve when the tube 18 is screwed to reach atight fit against the the shoulder 25 of the plug. This adaptability isdueto' the circular character of the valve-engaged partof the tube. Themaking of a rim of enlarged thickness of this The pivotal support for'part of the tube, which can be turned smooth" i and uniform, is another.feature tending to make the apparatus'an instrument of preci- Thefeature by which the fulcrum 20 expansion post by the screw plug 22, isanother advantageous feature. It permits the use of a knife edge fulcrumin which the heavy stress is distributed over a considerable length ofline, and yet permits the fulcrum to be screwed down tight without itsalignment being disturbed, To this end, a lubricant may be employedbetween the screw tubular plug 22 and the shoulder of the head 24carrying the fulcrum 20 if ever found advisable. I

I claim as my invention 1. trap, comprising in combination a metallictubular casing having an entrance valve and an open discharge; anexpansion post and a bell-crank lever in the casing, the bell-crankbeing fulcrumed on the casing, engaging the expansion post at a shortdistance transversely of the casing from the fulcrum, lying alongside ofthe expansion post and engaging the valve at a relatively considerabledistance lengthwise of the casing.

2. A trap, comprising in combination a metallic tubular casing having anentrance valve and an open discharge; a tubular ex pansion post and abell-crank lever in the casing, the bell-crank being fulcrumed on thecasing, engaging the expansion post a short distance transversely of thecasing from; the fulcrum; and engaging the valve at a relativelyconsiderable distance lengthwise of the casing.

3. A trap, comprising in combination a metallic tubular casing having anentrance valve and an open discharge; an expansion post and a bell-cranklever in the casing, the bell-crank being fulcrumed on the casing,engaging the expansion post at a short distance transversely of thecasing from the fulcrum, and having a tubular arm engaging the valve ata relatively considerable distance lengthwise of the casing.

l. A trap, comprising in combination a metallic tubular casing having anentrance valve and an open discharge; an expansion post and a bell-cranklever in the casing, the bell-crank being fulcrumed on the casing,engaging the expansion post at a short dis tance transversely of thecasing from the fulcrum, and engaging the valve at a rela tivelyconsiderable distance lengthwise of the casing; the said casing, thevalve-engaging part of the bell-crank, and the expansion post beingtubes nested together.

5. A trap, comprising in combination a metallic tubular casing having anentrance valve and an open discharge; an expansion post and a bell-cranklever in the casing, the bell-crank being fulcrumed on the casing,engaging the expansion post at a short distance transversely of thecasing from the fulcrum, and engaging the valve at a relativelyconsiderable distance lengthwise of the casing; the said casing, thevalve-engaging part of the bell-crank, and the expansion post beingtubes nested together; there being openings providing circulationthrough the valve-engaging tube into the-expansion post close to thefulcrum.

6. A trap, comprising in combination a metallic tubular casing having anentrance valve and an open discharge; a plug, closing one end of thetubular casing adapted to engage a lever as a fulcrum and adjustable inposition with respect to the casing; a bellcrank lever fulcrumed thereonwithin the casing; and anexpansion post supported at the other end ofthe casing and engaging the short arm of the lever at the fulcrum end ofthe casing; the longarm of the lever engaging the valve at the other endof the casing. 7

7. A trap, comprising in combination a metallic tubular casing having anentrance valve and an open discharge; a screw plug closing one end ofthe tubular casing and having swivelled in it a member adapted to engagea lever as a fulcrum; a bell-crank lever fulcrumed thereon within thecasing;

an expansion post within the casing; the short arm of the lever engagingsaid post and the long arm of the lever engaging the valve at the otherend of the casing.

8. A trap, comprising in combination a metallic tubular casinghaving anentrance valve and an open discharge; a tubular screw plug closing oneend of the casing; a screw sleeve within said tubular plug; and

a shaft filling the sleeve, having a head,

within the casing shouldered on the inner end of said sleeve and adaptedtoengage a lever as a fulcrum; a bell-crank lever fulcrumed thereonwithin the casing; an expansion post within the casing; the short arm ofthe lever engaging said post and the long arm of the lever engaging thevalve at the other end of the casing.

9. A trap, comprising in combination, a

metallic tubular casing having an entrance valve and an open discharge;an expansion post within the casing; a tube within the casing,surrounding the expansion post, adapted to be swung laterally, and toengage the valve when so swung; and means whereby the tube engages withthe casing as a fulcrum, and is swung laterally by expansion of saidpost.

10. A trap, comprising in combination .a

metallic tubular casing having an entrance;

valve and an open discharge; an expansion post within the casing; a tubewithin the casing, surrounding the expansion post, adapted to beswunglaterally, and to engage the valve when so swung; and aplug'insaidtube engaging the expansion post within the tube, and engaging thecasing outside of the tube with the lineof stress through one of theseengaging points passing close beside but not through the other of saidengaging 7 thereto, and engaging said valve at a distance from saidfulcrum.

12. A'trap, comprising in combination-a casing having an entrance valveand an open discharge; a bell-crank valve lever in and fulcrumedon thecasing, comprising a plugged tube; and an expansion post withinsaid-tube; the plug of the tube having a knife edge engagement with thepost.

13. A trap comprising, in combination with a valve, two difi'erentiallyexpanding stout straight metallic tubes; and a lever whose short armlength is'fixed by close-' together knife edge engagements with saidtubes and whoselong arm extends parallel to the tubes and acts directlyon the valve 14:. A trap, comprising in combination a casing having anentrance valve and an open discharge; a simple lever having a long armcontrolling the valve and a short transverse arm; and an expansion postparallel to the long arm and actuating the short arm.

15. A trap, comprising in combination a metallic tubular casing havingan entrance valve and an open discharge; a bell-crank lever having atubular long arm; and an expansion post; all being nested together andthere being fiat sided interior opposite surfaces on walls of the casingcentering one of the inner members while permitting it motion parallelto said flat sided walls.

16. A trap, comprising in combination a metallic tubular casing havingan entrance valve and an open discharge; a pin passing transverselythrough the casing; an expansion post within the casing, based on saidpin; and a lever engaged by the top of sa1d expansion post, fulcrumed onthe casing, and controlling the valve.

17. A trap, comprising in combination a casing having an entrance valveand an open discharge; an expansion post within the casing; and a levercontrolling the valve, fulcrumed on the casing, and engaged by saidexpansion post; there being a single part of the lever containing thefulcrum and expansion post engagement, which has fixed points for suchengagements and is removable for substitution of a similar part havingdifferently fixed points.

18. A trap, comprising in combination a metallic tubular casing havingan entrance valve and an open discharge; an expansion post and a tubularlever nested therein; a

fulcrum for the lever, movable in position on the casing; and a testingvalve arranged in an opening through the casing near the level of theentrance valve.

19. A trap, comprising in. combination a casing having an entrance tube,and an open discharge; a simple lever, and an expansion postengaging theshort arm thereof; the

said short arm being in a removable piece of the lever for which a piecewith a difi'erent length of short arm may be substituted; and the seatof said valve being in a removable piece for which a piece with valveseat of different size may be substituted.

20. A trap, comprising in combinationa casing having an entrance valveand an open discharge; a lever-controlling the valve and an expansionpost actuatingthe lever; there being a removable tubular plugcontainingsaid valve, having fluted Washers guiding the stem of thevalve, of which washersone bears against'a' shoulder in the plug and 7the other against a shoulder, on the valve stem, and a spring betweenand tending to separate saidwashers and thus to open said valve. 1

.21. A trap, comprising in combination a metallic tubularcasing closedatone end,

open at the other end, and having a side.

entrance with .valve nearits open'end; an

expansion post ,within, extending from near said open end to near saidclosed end; and a simple lever engaged between the post and the closedend ofthe casing and having a long arm extending from said closed end tosaid valve. 7

22. A trap having, in combination with a valve and an expansion member,a lever intervening, comprising a tube which in the direction of itsaxis constitutes the long arm of the lever; the other arm being indirection transverse of the tube.

23. A trap having, in combination with a valve and an expansion member,a lever connecting them, comprising a tube which in the direction of itsaxis constitutes the long arm of the lever; the valve engaging end ofsaid arm being adapted to engage the valve at any point in itscircumference.

24:. A trap having, in combination with a valve and an expansion member,a lever connecting them, comprising a tubewhich in the direction of itsaxis constitutes the intervening, comprising a tube which in the Idirection of its axis constitutesthe long arm of the lever and a plug inwhich is the fulcrum; the said plug engaging said tube longitudinallywith a screw thread and transversely with a shoulder fitting across theend 01" the walls of the tube.

26. A trap having, in combination with a valve and an expansion member,a lever intervening, comprising a tube which in the direction of itsaxis constitutes the long arm of the lever and a plug in which is thetulcrum; the said -plug engaging said tube longitudinally with a screwthread and transversely with a shoulder fitting across the end of thewalls of the tube; the said plug having parallel grooves in its oppositeends in planes close together, for making the short arm of the lever.

27. A trap having, in combination with a valve and an expansion member,a lever intervening, comprising a tube which in the direction of itsaxis constitutes the long arm of the lever and a plug for the tube end,in which plug are two parallel grooves, one on the inside for receiving.the power of the expansion post, and the other on the outside forreceiving the fulcrum.

'28. A trap having, in combination with a valve and an expansion member,a lever intervening, comprising a tube which in the direction of itsaxis constitutes the long arm of the lever and a plug for the tube end,in which plug are two parallel grooves, one diametrically arranged onthe inside and receiving the power, and the other on the out side,offset from the diametrical plane the distance of the short arm of thelever for receiving the fulcrum.

29. A trap having in combination a valve, an expansion member, and alever intervening; the expansion member being a post having pivotalsupport at its end remote;

expansion member; and atubular casing for the whole holding the fulcrumin the plane of its axis; the expansion member being cylindrical andhaving a pivotal support at one end on the casing and at its other endhaving a knife edge engagement with the lever in the plane of its ownaxis and of the axis of the lever tube; whereby the expansion member andthe lever can fit together at various angles according to variouslengths of short arm therefrom to the plane o'l engagement of thefulcrum with the lever.

Signed at Providence this nineteenth day of July, 1919. V V

WILLIAM J. TURNER.

